Concrete wall machine



Nov. 28, 1950 E. SHUTER CONCRETE WALL MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1948 F1 2 I'NVENTOR E. SHUTER A'r'rYS or f 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed March 11, 1948 6 Rom 6E Y TT. T. N T K. A N. 1

Patented Nov. 28, 1950 CON CRETE WALL MECHIN E Edwin Shuter, Leaside, Ontario, Canada, as-

SiIlOi to Di lpll l Walls, 1116., Dblifflflih Btbh,

Fla., a corporation of Florida Application March 11, 1948, Serial No. 14;331

This invention relates to apparatus for building concrete walls and has particular reference to devices of this nature adapted for continuous operation in forming a wall in courses one above the other in a rapid and reliable manner.

Prior apparatus of thi class is characterized by undue complication requiring a person, thoroughly familiar with building practices and the handling of building equipment in their use. At this time there is particular need for a simple type of machine or apparatus which may form a hollow wall in a quick and effective manner where the machine will require a minimum of unskilled labor.

- It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a. concrete wall machine which may be used by the ordinary layman and which is cheap to manufacture and therefore available at little cost.

'-Another object of the invention is to provide a concrete wall machine and a corner wall form therefor whereby the space between the walls formed by the machine is capable also of being continued into the corners of the wall.

-A still further object of the invention is to improve the facilities formaking a wall of the above character with steel reinforcing above window openings, door openings and the like.

With the foregoing and other objects in view,

7 the invention generally comprises a concrete wall machine having a pair of sidewalls adapted to be mounted onto the end wallof a centrally disposed tongue member or spacer. Locking means are provided which incorporate a Wedge function in the locking of the sidewalls into parallel spaced apart relation to the centrally disposed tongue member, the locking means being so designed that when the machine is lifted away from concrete already formed that the locking means are automatically released and when the machine is again placed in a new position, the locking means may readily be applied. orifices are provided in the end wall ofthe tongue to accommodate reinforcing bars if desired.

I also include a supplementary corner wall form designed to be used'in conjunction with the above apparatus whereby a corner may be cast having an air space between the outer and inner walls.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a study of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is 'a perspective view of the present concrete wall machine showing the same fastenedtothe supplementary corner wall form, also of my invention.

F'gur'e 2 is a plan view of the ciiiioretewall macrime of Figure 1, thecoriier wan form not being shown in this figure.

Figure 3 is a sectionalview of a portion of a wall formed by the presentfiiachine.

Figure "4 is'an "elevation showing the mathine 1 Claim. (C1. 25- 131) 2 of my invention in use in providing reinforcing above a door orwindow opening.

Figure is a sectional view "of a wall extending up to the roof of a one=story building indicating that the plastering ma be 'done enactments use inner surface of the inner wall formed by my machine. Figure 6 is a v'ie'w 'of the end wall of Figure showing the reinforcing bar orifices. Referring now to the drawings, in "Figure 1 the concrete wall forming machine It according to *my invention is shown 'l'e'stihg on a partially formed wall H. The machine comprises the side walls l2 which are slotted vertically as at l3 to receive the end wall 14 which is integrally "formed with the longitudinallyextending tongue member or "spacer l'5. Suitable bolts extend "from the end wan 14 threugh suitable holes (not shewni in the side Walls [2 to receive the knurled hand knobs 16 which may be easily applied or removed by the operator in assembling or disassembling the machine. It will be apparent that suitable wing nuts may be used in place "of the knurled knobs I6, if desired. H

The "side walls l2 carry alternately disposed wedge means H and the bolt l8 is-adapted to pivotally mount'the locking arm, the latter being designed to engage the wedges IT. The free ends of the arms l9 are connected by the crossbar 20 which forms a handle which may be gripped by the operator to lock the side plates for sidewalls 12 relative to the tongue t5, by swinging the arm f9 counterclockwise or pressing downwardly on the handle 20. The sidewalls may be released by merely rotating the arm [9 clockwise if desired, and at the same time the machine may be drawn along the wall II. In this connection unimportant tono'te that I prefer to incorporate the roller 2! which is mounted on the end wall It by suitable brackets 22 and also incorporate handles23 for drawing the machine along the wall if for any reason considerable clifficulty encountered. Also, a suitable shelf 24 is mounted on the end wall it to support a spirit level.

In Figure 1 the concrete wall machine I0 is shown connected to a corner forming form or mould 25 which comprises the outside walls"26 and 21 and the in'ner'side walls 28 and 29 forming the inner corner and. the end wallet holding" the sidewalls 29 and. 21 in spaced apart relation and fixed thereto by suitable bolts 31. The walls 26 and 28 have flanges 32 and 33 respeef tively designed to engage the flanges Hand 35 of'the sidewalls [2 of the machine I'll. Flanges Hand 34, and 33 and 35 are mountable together, by means of suitable bolts 36. I

In operation, the corner wall form '25 is placed onto the concrete base ll, thesicles of motorne'r wan farm depending past the upper surface Ma. The machine In is "fastened to'tlie our farm 25 as described, and the s acers 31 are in Parts Cement l l" crushed stone 2 Washed sand 3 Sometimes it is necessary to add water where the moisture content of the sand is low, to give the necessary consistency to the mix. I have found that when the mix is just wet enough to mould in the hand when pressed firmly, that it is suitable. When the mix is prepared in this manner, it is inserted into the corner form 25 and the machine to and tamped firmly into place, and the top surface levelled off. The bolts 36 may then be released and the machine It) may be released from its initial position shown in Figure l by rotating the arms clockwise by lifting on the handle 20 to release the sidewalls l2 and at the same time the machine may be pulled along the base I l to a new position where the free ends of the walls I2 are just engaging the formed portions of the walls 39 and 48.

As the machine progresses along an under course forming a new wall portion, it is necessary to place condensation bars which may be formed as indicated in Figure 3 by a loop of wire extending between the walls 39 and 48. Each bar is merely placed on the top surface of the already formed wall portion as indicated by numeral 4! and serves to support the tongue member 15 of the machine when the next course is laid. Otherwise the machine may tip or be difficult to manage in providing a constant level.

The method of forming a pocket for a beam or joist is indicated in Figure 2. There the in-- nor wall 4!! is shown formed about a suitable block of Wood 42 next to the sidewall l2, the block being of dimensions to provide a recess in the finished wall surface which will receive the end of a beam or joist.

The method of forming a reinforced wall portion is shown in Figure 4 wherein the spaced apart walls 33 are shown having an opening Q4 fora window or doorway with a conventional frame .5 built into the opening while the walls are being constructed. The machine it is shown in position for the formation of a course extending across the top of the opening 44. It is usual to supply some sort of reinforcing travelling across the top of such an opening in conventional construction, but this may be done with ready facility by means of my machine by using ordinary steel reinforcing rods 46. The rod shown which may be in both the outer and inner walls, if desired, preferably has one anchoring end with the hook formation 41 shown and the remainder of the rod extends through an orifice 48 (see Figure 6) in the end wall [4 of the tongue I5.

It will be apparent therefore, that reinforced wall structures may be built with my machine, and the placement of such reinforcing will not interfere with the normal operation of the machine since the machine may still be slid along to subsequent positions in the extension of a course of the wall.

'Where it is desired to form partition walls in the interior of a building, I merely supply an end wall similar .to the end wall l4 shown in Figures land 2 which has no tongue member aseaew corresponding to the tongue member l5. Such an end wall of course, may be narrower than the combined dimensions of the inner and outer walls shown in Figure 3 and in fact, I prefer to make such a solid wall equal to the thickness dimension of one of either the inner or outer walls of the exterior walls of the structure being built. Aside from the elimination of the tongue member, the end wall for this purpose would be substantially similar in all characteristics to the end wall l4 shown in Figure l.

I have found that due to the air space formed by the machine of my invention between the outer and inner walls, it is not necessary to use a conventional inner framing to support lathes and the like for plastering since such practice is normally used to provide an air space between an outer wall and the plastered surface. I therefore, apply the plaster directly to the inner sur face of the inner wall 48 as indicated by numeral 49 (see Figure 5). A beam 50 is shown supported in the inner wall 48 in the pocket 5| which is formed in the manner formerly de scribed. It is intended that the present disclosure should not be construed in any limiting sense other than that indicated in the following claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

In a concrete wall machine having an end wall designed to rest upon the upper surface of a previous course of a wall being formed, and side plates mounted on said end wall to form side walls wherein the side plates are of a greater depth than the end wall and extend downwardly to engage the side wall surfaces of the previous course; the combination of, a locking arm in the form of a crossbar adapted to be gripped by the operator for locking and unlocking the machine and for moving the machine along the previous course, a pair of locking arms extending from the crossbar on either side of the machine, means pivotally connecting each of said arms to said side plates and extending through the latter from said end wall, wedge means fixed to said side plates adjacent the free ends of said arms designed to be engaged thereby, and wedge means on said side plates disposed between the pivotal connection of said arms and the crossbar of said arms and in an alternate arrangement With'respect to the wedge action of said former wedge means, said locking arm being depressible to cause swinging movement of said arms about their pivotal connections and bearing of said arms against said wedge means whereby the assembly of said side walls and said end plate becomes rigid and locked, said crossbar being accessible for gripping by an operator in a lifting and drawing movement to cause release of said side walls from said end wall a predetermined amount.

EDWIN SHUTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,440,380 Edon-Brown Jan. 2, 1923 1,593,771 Linthwaite July 27, 1926 2,339,892 Urschel Jan. 25, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 445,407 Great Britain Apr. 8,1936 

